Supervisors have agreed to send a letter of concern to Gov. Brown after multiple Democratic lawmakers in Sacramento urged that all injection wells in California be shut down.

Lorelei Oviatt is Kern County’s planning director and says the county can’t survive without the practice.

“Water and steam injection projects are critical because our heavy crude is produced from geologic formations that contain mixed water and oil – we bring the water up, and they skim the oil off the top of it,” Oviatt said.

Supervisor Zack Scrivner says the lawmakers that proposed the end the to practice aren’t familiar with Kern County.

“They’re just doing the bidding of the environmental extremists around the state,” Scrivner said. “I don’t think they care about the job losses in Kern County, and I don’t think they care about the water quality and water supply in Kern County.”

The county wants Brown to urge the Department of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources to expedite the process to permit new wells.

Opponents say the wells are contaminating groundwater.

– Anthony Pollreisz